Under the Hood: Cars & Trucks looks at the vehicles used in the game.  Blur features over 50 licensed cars to drive as players race through visually stunning tracks set in real-world locations ranging from L.A. and San Francisco to the streets of Hackney, UK, to the treacherous roads of Barcelona and all the way to Japan. 

Blur™ is the ultimate powered-up racing experience, dropping players into heart-pumping, electrified action with multiple cars trading paint as they charge towards the finish line.  Drivers careen through real-world track locations packed with fast curves, sneaky alternate routes and hair-raising jumps in over 50 licensed cars as they collect intense Power-ups, including the ability to blast other cars out of the way with huge bursts of energy, boost their speed, and more. Blur delivers a new style of Powered-up racing experience for all gamers.

KEY FEATURES:

• Power-ups that Shock Your Socks off – Drivers will collect and use intense Power-ups throughout each race, including the ability to blast other cars out of the way with huge bursts of energy, boost speed with Nitros, drop mines, use power-up to take out racers ahead of you and drivers on your tail. You can even generate defensive shields to fend off other racers. Players can use each Power-up independently on the fly, or collect and combine the Power-ups and use them offensively or defensively to multiply the effect on the competition. Players can also purchase Power-up modifications, to amplify the on-track carnage to suit their individual strategies.

• Racing for All Gamers – Blur moves beyond traditional racers by taking genre staples, including licensed cars, photo-realistic graphics and real-world locations. By combining these with gameplay, designed completely to focus on ‘fun’ and featuring intuitive pick-up-and-play controls, intense Power-ups, and races where players are always in the pack challenging for the lead from beginning to end. Either in Single Player or Multiplayer Blur is for all types of gamers, regardless of experience or skill level.

• Social Network Interface – Blur’s new, innovative social network user interface is designed to evolve dynamically as players compete in different races, make new friends, rivals and fans, and connect with other racers in real life. Learn what’s going on in the Blur world, locate where and when the next big races are happening, rally your fans for support, and take up challenges designed to suit your favourite racing style.

• It Wouldn’t Be Racing Without Multiplayer – Blur offers gamers a new kind of racing experience that allows them to race with friends and as part of a network of players in high intensity competition and fun.  With 20 players online and a progressive ranking system that rewards gamers the more they play, Blur focuses on objective based race events, and also features 4-player split-screen for playing with friends from the comfort of the couch.  Blur also introduces Custom Groups – where anyone can create unique multiplayer modes based on their favorite ways to play the game.  These new modes are then shared through Blur’s social network, expanding the game in ways only limited by the gaming community’s creativity.

• Real-World Cars and Locations – Blur features over 50 licensed cars to drive as players race through visually stunning tracks set in real-world locations ranging from L.A. and San Francisco to the streets of Hackney, UK, to the treacherous roads of Barcelona and all the way to Japan.  As players progress through the game, they’ll be able to unlock and purchase multiple versions of the cars, each paying homage to different racing cultures, including Rat, Drift, Smooth and Tuner, and each with their own specific performance pros and cons.

• Cinematic Destruction Meets Photo-Realism – CAUTION! – Racers may experience insane collisions featuring loads of damage and destruction, with panels crumpling on photo-realistic cars as they flip and roll down the track.

The Blur Multiplayer Beta Demo is currently available for free download on Xbox Live.

Blur will be available May 26 on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

For more information, be sure to visit the official Blur game website located at http://blurgame.com/home

Music TV for PlayStation®3 gets even bigger – more than 3 million VidZone users and a host of brand new music channels 

SYDNEY, 23^rd April 2010 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) is proud to announce that the music video on demand service VidZone™ on PlayStation®3 (PS3™) has launched VidZone™ TV. Not content with serving more than 380 million music videos in its first nine months, VidZone is to bring even more ways to enjoy the hottest music content straight to your TV screens and living rooms. The all new VidZone TV will offer a choice of more than 100 free pre-programmed music channels, specially selected and created by VidZone to suit your moods and music tastes.   

Via a new VidZone update released on April 22^nd at midnight in Australia, VidZone’s now 3 million plus users will be able to simply select a music channel they want and let the music roll.  No time to build your own playlist or search the catalogue? Want a certain type of music for a certain mood?  A specific year?  A genre or artist?  Or just exploring?  Find the channel you want by searching – under ‘Artist’ from Alicia Keys to Tiesto, ‘Genre’ from Rock and Pop to Hip-Hop and Bollywood, ‘Year’ from 70s to 2010, ‘Label’ from Major to Indie labels like Sony Music and Skint Records or ‘General’ for everything from Karaoke Favourites, Party Tunes to Video Games Music TV – and you have your very own music TV experience!

The six-part series premieres exclusively on April 25^th on Xbox LIVE and April 27^th at BrightFalls.com

Sydney, Australia – April 23^rd – Turn down the lights but keep your flashlight and batteries handy as Xbox 360 unveils “Bright Falls,” a six-part live action series that serves as a thrilling prequel to the mystery unfolding in “Alan Wake.”

Each episode is designed to bring you to the edge of your seat and spur your curiosity with similar eerie and suspenseful cliff-hangers as in the game. 

The first two episodes of “Bright Falls” will be available for viewing exclusively on Xbox LIVE for Gold members starting April 25^th and for all Xbox LIVE members on April 26^th, before debuting at BrightFalls.com on April 27^th.  A new episode will be released each week thereafter, leading up to the shocking conclusion with the final two episodes on May 17^th.

Shot on location in Oregon, “Bright Falls” is directed by Philip Van whose short films have won over a dozen awards in festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and more.  

Fans of the highly anticipated psychological action thriller are invited to check-in for this thrill ride before Alan Wake’s search to unravel the mystery officially begins on May 20^th. For those who can’t wait, you can secure your Bright Falls Bonus Pack by pre-ordering the game now from participating retailers.  A must-have for anyone intrigued by the game, the pack includes Avatar gear such as the “I Am Awake” T-shirt and an Xbox LIVE “Bright Falls” theme based on the game.  Furthermore, the Limited Collector’s Edition is designed to resemble a hardcover novel and is packed with special bonus content, a great addition for your bookshelf.

Bringing a fresh style of storytelling in this dynamic new title exclusive to Xbox 360, “Alan Wake” is developed by Remedy Entertainment, the renowned original developers of the successful “Max Payne” series.  “Alan Wake” immerses players in an intense and expansive cinematic world that enables players to explore the hyper-realistic and interactive environments. 

“Alan Wake” is episodic-based with a deeply engaging and suspenseful storyline unveiling new twists and profound character revelations at every turn.

For more information and a trailer for “Bright Falls,” please visit xbox.com/alanwake.

”Halo: Reach” delivers the ultimate collector’s experience with Limited and Legendary game editions

New ViDoc takes viewers behind the scenes of the highly anticipated multiplayer beta launching 4^th of May

Sydney, 23^rd April, 2010 – One of the biggest games of 2010, “Halo: Reach,” is getting the ultimate collector’s treatment it deserves. Limited and Legendary editions of “Halo: Reach,” packed with exclusive content are now available for pre-order starting today at participating retailers.

Additionally, Bungie has today unveiled a new action-packed video documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the development of “Halo: Reach”. Also featured is a sneak peek at the new modes, features and content that players will be able to test when the multiplayer beta kicks off on the 4^th of May.

“Halo: Reach” will be available in Standard, Limited and Legendary editions when the game launches this autumn. Both the Limited and Legendary editions are filled with content based on the fiction of “Halo: Reach” and the “Halo” universe. The Legendary edition, to be produced in very limited quantities, is designed for the ultimate “Halo” fan. The centrepiece is a collectible 10 inch tall, 5 kilogram statue of Noble Team, created by the acclaimed designers at McFarlane Toys.

Full details on the contents of the Limited and Legendary editions are below:

“Halo: Reach” Limited Edition

In addition to the game disc and manual, the Limited edition includes:

• Game disc housed in recovered ONI “black box”
• Exclusive Elite armour set for use in multiplayer modes
• Artefact bag containing Dr. Halsey’s personal journal and other classified documents and effects that unravel long held secrets from the “Halo” universe

“Halo: Reach” Legendary Edition

The complete “Halo: Reach” collection. In addition to the game disc, manual, and the complete contents of the Limited edition, the Legendary edition includes:

• Noble Team statue expertly crafted by the artisans at McFarlane Toys. Individually moulded, hand-painted and individually numbered, this statue is a must-have for any serious “Halo” fan
• UNSC-themed custom packaging
• An exclusive multiplayer Spartan armour effect

Pricing will be announced closer to local availability.

The Limited and Legendary special editions will be available only while supplies last, so fans who want to secure their copy and ensure access to the exclusive in-game armour sets are encouraged to pre-order quickly.

ViDoc: Carnàge Carnivàle

Bungie’s latest “Halo: Reach” ViDoc, titled Carnàge Carnivàle, features explosive new game-play footage from the multiplayer beta and insightful, colourful commentary directly from the Bungie design team. Learn what Bungie loves best about the new multiplayer experiences in “Halo: Reach” while also discovering the process of creating new weapons, game modes and multiplayer features in this humorous and action-packed preview of the multiplayer beta.

The Beta drops on the 4^th of May

Now less than two weeks away, the “Halo: Reach” multiplayer beta is poised to be one of the definitive Xbox LIVE events of this year. The beta will offer millions of “Halo” fans a unique opportunity to test and help refine the blockbuster game. Representing the highly-respected multiplayer elements that have become the hallmark of the “Halo” series and fused with a host of new content and features, “Halo: Reach” offers a robust and action-packed multiplayer experience and looks to set a new standard for competitive game-play, customisation and community integration.

Developed by acclaimed studio Bungie, “Halo: Reach” launches exclusively on Xbox 360 in the spring of 2010.

NOTE: Pricing will be announced closer to local availability.

PlayStation® signs videogame deal with The Wiggles creating a new SingStar® sensation for Aussie children

The Wiggles go hi-tech with their first computer game exclusive to PlayStation

SYDNEY, 23 April 2010 – Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCE Aust.) today announced a partnership with internationally renowned children’s group The Wiggles. The licensing agreement will see SingStar®The Wiggles created exclusively for PlayStation®. It will release on PlayStation®2 (PS2™) in May 2010 and on PlayStation®3 (PS3™) later in the year. The title will be made available in both Australia and New Zealand. Designed with a child friendly game interface SingStar The Wiggles will provide an interactive and fun experience in homes across the region.

The Wiggles have become a worldwide phenomenon over their 19 year career, selling over 23 million DVDs and 7 million CDs worldwide. Now, with their first ever full computer game release, thousands of young fans of The Wiggles in Australia and New Zealand will be able to experience the interactive and rewarding experience of singing along to their favourite tunes. Anthony Field, Jeff Fatt, Sam Moran, Murray Cook, together with children’s favourites Dorothy the Dinosaur and Captain Feathersword will be featured in the computer game debut, that will lead children and families through their classic songs, such as `Hot Potato’ and `Wake up Jeff!’

“SingStar The Wiggles is a PlayStation title designed exclusively for children. Every day, kids around the world sing along to their favourite albums and videos released by The Wiggles. Now, with  SingStar, we can offer fans of The Wiggles an interactive and rewarding experience as children learn to perform their favourite songs in the lounge rooms across Australia and New Zealand,” said Michael Ephraim, Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand.

Paul Field, Managing Director, The Wiggles Productions stated, “After nearly twenty years of making music, filming videos, and entertaining children around the world, The Wiggles have reached a new level of entertainment by joining together with Sony Computer Entertainment to create The Wiggles’ SingStar game. I’m sure there will be young adults who have grown up with The Wiggles’ music who will be grabbing the mic and doing the ‘Hot Potato’. It’s fantastic, for the first time ever you can be the fifth Wiggle and sing along with the fab four of fun!”

To celebrate the addition of their new community manager, LucySong, Dragon Oath is giving away a turtle mount to one lucky player. Players who visit the ChangYou forums between now and May 13^th and share their favorite thing about the game will have the chance to win a Dragon Turtle mount along with the riding scroll required to ride it.

The awesome mount increases players’ movement speed by 70% and is large enough to seat two people. He has custom animations, and will lash his tail, snap his teeth, and stomp his feet.
The event will last till 05/13 and the winner will be announced 05/15.

Want to ride in style and become the envy of the whole server? Come visit the ChangYou forums (http://us.changyou.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=10) today and you could be the lucky winner!

Sydney Thursday April 22: The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will return to the world of Pandora with the team to wear a specially created AVATAR jersey when they meet the Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night.

The AVATAR jersey, which cleverly works the face markings of Aussie Sam Worthington’s character Jake Sully into the Bulldogs V, was unveiled on the ‘Footy Show’ tonight and kicks off a massive cross-promotional campaign to promote the launch of AVATAR on Blu-ray and DVD, with its release on April 29.  

Since its theatrical release last December AVATAR has continued to make motion picture history with the Oscar and Golden Globe winning epic taking over $2.6 billion in box-office earnings around the world.  The movie tells the story of a reluctant hero embarking on a journey of redemption and discovery as he leads a heroic battle to save a civilization, providing a great synergy with the Bulldogs recent experiences.     

As part of the AVATAR promotion, fans attending Friday night’s match will have the chance to win a home entertainment system courtesy of Harvey Norman and Panasonic and great Avatar prizes.

“AVATAR is the highest-grossing movie ever made and we’re thrilled Twentieth Century Fox have chosen the Bulldogs to partner with them to launch the DVD and Blu-ray version in Australia,” said Chief Executive Mr Todd Greenberg.

“These jerseys will become absolute collector’s items and we’ll be auctioning them to raise significant funds for Bulldogs in the Community and Twentieth Century Fox charities.”

The Bulldogs existing jersey sponsor Jaycar will move to back of jersey for the night and membership sponsor Autobarn will move to the shorts, happy to share the limelight with one of the greatest films ever made.    

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment believes the Bulldogs partnership is the perfect vehicle in which to promote the release of Avatar on Blu-ray and DVD.

“The Bulldogs colours provided a natural fit for AVATAR but, more importantly, their ability to command a huge audience gives us the best opportunity to let people know that this masterpiece becomes available on Blu-ray and DVD from April 29,” said Kristen McGrath, Associate Director of Publicity and Promotions, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

“We are excited about our partnership with the Bulldogs and look forward to seeing this iconic title come alive when the Bulldogs embody the Avatar spirit tomorrow night,” says McGrath.

Lost Planet 2
Previously exclusive to select community members and available via giveaways on various websites, the Lost Planet 2 multiplayer demo is now available for download via Xbox LIVE and tomorrow on Playstation Network.

Featuring the Turbulent Jungle Map, one of the ten maps which will be available on retail disk, the Lost Planet 2 Multiplayer Demo previews the action packed mayhem that consumers can expect when Lost Planet 2 arrives in stores across Europe on May 11th 2010!

New Lenovo ThinkPad L Series Helping Businesses Boost Productivity

Highest Amounts of Recycled Content and Enhanced VoIP Web Conferencing

AUSTRALIA, Sydney – 22 April, 2010:  Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is today introducing a new series of ThinkPad, the L Series. Designed for large businesses, government and education customers, the ThinkPad L412 and L512 are high performance laptops featuring the latest Intel processing technologies, military tough durability and strong web conferencing capabilities. Starting at AUD$1199.00, the L412 and L512 are affordable and the greenest laptops on the market, integrating the highest amounts of post consumer recycled content.

Business-Focused Performance

The new ThinkPad L Series equips both businesses and students with the most important technologies for their day to day work. These technologies include:

• Choices of the latest Intel Core i3 and i5 processors with Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading technology
• 16:9 HD antiglare displays on the 14-inch L412 and 15-inch L512
• Choices of Intel® Integrated GMA HD or Discrete ATI® Mobility Radeon® HD 5145 with 512 MB DDR3¹
• 3G wireless connectivity options with Gobi 2000 module
• Multitouch touchpads
• Up to 8 hours of battery life²
• Expansion with 4 USB ports/1 powered, combo eSATA/USB port, support for DisplayPort and VGA
• Windows 7 with Lenovo Enhanced Experience featuring 57 percent faster bootup and shutdown time³

The L412 and L512 have the enterprise features business and IT administrators require such as global availability, image stability, eight hour battery life and docking. They also include ThinkVantage Technologies tools like Access Connections to make the computing experience more productive for users. The L Series laptops pass the tough test for withstanding the wear and tear of the office, giving users long term value. They meet eight different military specification tests for high and low temperatures, vibration, altitude, dust and more.

“Today customers are looking to get more out of their PC technology,” said Chris Kelly, Product and Marketing Director, Lenovo, Australia. “We designed the new L Series to provide users with superior performance, capable of boosting productivity. The L Series features cutting-edge processing performance, long battery life and a VoIP –optimised design without sacrificing the reliability and durability the ThinkPad is known for.”    

Expanded Green Footprint

Lenovo continues to focus on green design with the L Series. The laptops use up to 30 percent post consumer content from plastic office water jugs and used IT equipment parts such as the LCD cover, palm rests and top/bottom case. The L512 laptop contains 18 percent post consumer content (PCC), making it the industry’s highest amount of PCC in a laptop.⁴ Each L Series laptop saves the equivalent of ten plastic water bottles. Overall, Lenovo has used 19 million kilograms of PCC since 2005 in Think-branded products.

As part of the lifecycle design process, the laptops meet Energy Star 5.0 for high energy efficiency and are rated EPEAT Gold in the U.S. for their environmental attributes. Users can deploy Lenovo’s Power Manager Software tool to monitor and adjust power settings. Additionally, Lenovo has committed to packaging reduction, reducing packaging materials by 20 percent of yearly volume. The laptops are shipped in 100 percent recycled packaging that can go straight to the recycling bin.

Tailored for Web Conferencing 

The L Series laptops are tailored for an excellent voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) experience and offer the full range of connectivity options, from Ethernet and Bluetooth to 3G. Lenovo has equipped the laptops with high resolution, two megapixel cameras that white balance automatically and work well in low lighting conditions for conferences.

The L Series is also equipped with digital-array microphones with echo cancellation that allows users to conference in noisy environments. The speakers have been installed directly underneath the screen and above the keyboard for rich sound quality. Hardware audio control keys, speaker mute and audio mute, are conveniently located to the left of the keyboard for easy use. By pressing the shortcut Function + F6 hotkey combination, users are able to navigate a simple software interface to modify VoIP settings.  

A Powerful Learning Platform

Built to withstand the heavy daily use in primary and higher education, the ThinkPad L Series laptops are equipped with the technologies to get students through the school day. Beyond providing education-focused PC technology, Lenovo is committed to improving learning and increasing operational efficiency at all levels of academia through the Education Research Initiative (ERI). ERI joins hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and researchers from schools across the world to evaluate and quantify how technology can systemically improve education.  As part of this research, the ThinkPad L Series will be deployed at student learning facilities while promoting instructional innovation and data-driven decision making for faculty and administrators.

Pricing and Availability⁵

The ThinkPad L412 and L512 laptops are available in mid-May through Lenovo business partners. Pricing starts at approximately AUD$1349.00 for the L412 and AUD$1199.00 for the L512. All prices quoted include GST.

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter and Facebook.

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is dedicated to building exceptionally engineered personal computers. Lenovo’s business model is built on innovation, operational efficiency and customer satisfaction as well as a focus on investment in emerging markets. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide. Lenovo has major research centres in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information see www.lenovo.com.au.

¹Available in June.

²With 9 cell battery.

³Improvement claim is based on testing Windows® 7 L412 and L512 against non-configured system. The L Series laptops have been optimised. Actual times and their relative improvements vary by model, with an average boot and shutdown improvement of up to 57%. Improvements may vary according to the exact configuration of the system and may degrade over time depending on other software installed or changes made to system settings. Lenovo optimization does not impact any essential services or software features.

⁴According to the EPEAT registry as of 4/20/2010.

⁵Prices do not include shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.